An Inconvenience
by jmss7
Summary: Roy and his mother-in-law don't get along, so it's quite the challenge when his wife, Joanne, is injured and her mother moves in with them!
1. Chapter 1

An Inconvenience

It was supposed to be a dream vacation for the kids, and that is why paramedic Roy DeSoto had been taking extra shifts at the fire station. It was going to bite into their family's budget, and they wanted to have extra cash so they could do the things they wanted without worrying about saying no to the children at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm. It just felt wrong that they lived in California and had never been as a family to the premier attractions of the state. They were even going to stay in the on-site Disneyland Hotel the whole time; his wife Joanne argued that it was her vacation too, so why should she have to cook and make beds and do laundry while everyone else was having fun? That's what was adding up to a huge expense.

Consequently, Roy wasn't around very much, and since their son Christopher was just beginning to be involved in Little League and daughter Jennifer had her ballet lessons, on top of Joanne being in charge of the biggest PTA fundraiser of the year, it seemed that no one in the house had time to turn around and say hello to each other. Someone was on the run somewhere all the time and meals had become snatch and grab, with Joanne cooking up extra food on the weekends so that during the week they would have lots of leftovers.

The past few weeks had been hectic, but manageable. As time went on, the strain was starting to tell – laundry was beginning to pile up, and the kitchen counters never seemed to be totally clear of dishes. Joanne sighed, as she glanced around the living room. There were school books piled on one side of the kitchen table, 40 boxes of PTA cookies to sell on the floor near the window, drawing supplies scattered in front of the television, old newspapers in a two foot high stack on a chair, school bags in the hallway and more shoes than seemed reasonable for four people to own cluttering up the front entrance. The vacuum stood in the hallway. The children had just gotten home from school when Chris reminded his mother that he had an extra ball practice scheduled before supper at the park behind the high school. "Why there?" Joanne complained, as she grabbed her keys and purse, and prevented Jenny from heading into the family room.

"I dunno, Mom, it's just what coach said."

"I know, dear. Grab your gear and let's go," she sighed again. Chris ran to his room to get his bag, and came bounding down the stairs, heading for the front door. Joanne reached out to stop him from leaping over the vacuum, when the dog, racing to get to Chris, tripped her…CRACK! THUD!... she fell over the vacuum, hit her head first on the door frame, then on the tiled floor of the entrance, while her right foot twisted underneath the vacuum canister.

It seemed like time stopped. The children stood there in shock, as their mother lay on the floor. "Mom? Mom? You okay?" pleaded Jenny in a scared voice. Joanne couldn't move. Everything hurt. She couldn't help moaning. And…everything was dark.

Christopher asked, "Should we call 911?" and Joanne gasped, "Yes," while trying not to cry out any more from the pain. Oh, her head. She'd heard of seeing stars, but this was a night with meteors…her ankle burned like it was on fire, and she felt like she was going to throw up, but didn't dare turn her head or move in any way. She could hear Chris on the phone. She could feel Jenny kneeling beside her, but when she touched her mother, Joanne couldn't help crying out, "AH! NO! Don't!" Jenny removed her hand as if she had been zapped.

Jenny started to cry softly as she saw her mother's obvious pain, but Chris was trying very hard to be like his fireman father, and take calm control of the situation. He asked his sister, "Should I call Dad?" and Jenny nodded vigorously, but Joanne said faintly, "No. Wait."

"But why, Mom?" Joanne wasn't able to get her thoughts coherently out over her extreme discomfort, she just knew she didn't want Roy worrying until she was safely with people who could tell him how she was really. "Wait," she repeated in as firm a voice as she could manage.

Within minutes they heard the siren of a rescue squad pulling up at the door, with the sound of an ambulance not far behind. Since Joanne was partially blocking the doorway, Jenny led the paramedics in from the back door and through the house. Joanne overheard the children giving a stereo account of the accident, and soon she felt someone take her wrist and say in a calm voice, "Mrs. DeSoto? Joanne? It's Dave from Station 45. How are you?"

"Not so good," she replied in a weak, shaky voice.

"Where does it hurt?"

"My head, my ankle…"

"Okay, just relax; we're going to take good care of you." Hands gently passed over her head, and she saw a faint glimmer as something was shone into her eyes. "So, I hear you hit your head twice?"

Chris interjected, "Yeah, first on the door – BANG! And then on the floor – THUNK!" He whacked his hands together hard. Dave's hands found the bump forming on the side of her head, and the one on the back. She couldn't help whimpering from the pain even though she knew he was trying to be as gentle as he could. Dave asked the children, "Was your mom unconscious at all?" Jenny shrugged, her eyes wide, while Chris said, "I don't know. She didn't move at first when she fell." Dave repeated his question to Joanne, "Did you lose consciousness at any time?" Joanne couldn't say. She just remembered falling, and then pain.

Jenny went to lead the ambulance attendants into the house from the back door again, while Chris hovered protectively nearby. Joanne felt the paramedic's face near her own, and said quietly, hoping that Chris wouldn't hear, "I can't see. It's all dark."

She tried not to let her panic into her voice, but Dave wasn't fooled. He told her in a matter-of-fact voice, "You've probably got a concussion. Losing your sight temporarily sometimes happens with head injuries. Don't worry about it. I'm sure it will be fine." His partner Ross had finished taking her blood pressure, and turned his attention to her ankle. As soon as he touched it, she couldn't help but yell out again, tears forming involuntarily in her eyes.

Chris said in awe, "Mom, your ankle is the size of a baseball! And it's really purple!" Joanne couldn't see it, but she sure could feel it. '_Oh. Oh. Oh. Please give me something for the pain!'_ she thought, but she didn't say it out loud; she remembered all the times Roy expressed his frustration at having a patient with a head injury and being unable to do anything for their pain. She wasn't even aware that the IV line was in; she was so distracted by the knives in her head and the screaming of her ankle.

She heard Dave say to the kids that they could ride up front in the ambulance, and then the backboard they placed her on was transferred to a stretcher. She felt the rush of air as the front door was opened and she was wheeled down the sidewalk to the ambulance. Slam! Slam! The doors closed and the stretcher swayed slightly as the ambulance drove with sirens wailing towards Rampart General Hospital. Joanne lay on the backboard feeling like all her muscles were stretched on a rack. Oh, God, it hurt. And her head. OW OW OW…She just wanted the pain to stop. If only she could get off this damn backboard and lie on something soft!

Roy didn't hear the initial call for his wife's accident, because he and his partner, John Gage, had been busy with an emergency run. It wasn't until they arrived at Rampart and had delivered their patient that head nurse Dixie McCall asked to speak with Roy. Johnny followed right behind like his shadow.

Dixie looked at her friend and told him directly, "Roy, I don't know if you heard, but your wife is being brought in by squad 45."

Roy's eyes became very wide with shock, and he started to speak, but it was Johnny who asked first, "What happened? How is she?"

"She fell at home and hurt her head and her ankle. According to 45, she might have a concussion and her ankle appears to be broken. I don't think there's anything to be concerned about, but I knew you would want to know. They should be bringing her in any minute. Your kids are coming in too."

Roy leaned up against the counter near the nursing station. Joanne hurt? She was always his rock. A sick feeling curled in his stomach. He didn't have time to brood about it, because Dixie announced, "They're arriving now," and they went to meet the stretcher.

Before Roy could see his wife, Chris and Jenny threw themselves onto him, both talking at once. He gave them a quick reassuring hug that enveloped them both, and said, "I need to see your mother," firmly but kindly. They stopped and pulled away, seeing the concern on their father's face. Roy turned to Johnny and asked, "Could you?..." and Johnny knew right away what to do.

"C'mon kids, give your dad some space and come with me. You can tell me all about it." The children had no problem turning to their "Uncle Johnny" and immediately began telling him about their adventure, Chris asking all kinds of questions about the ambulance, and Jenny wanting to know about what the paramedics had done for her mother and why.

Joanne was already in the treatment room, and Dr Mike Morton was holding up his fingers in front of her face. "What do you see, Joanne?" he asked. She replied, "I see movement, but I can't tell what it is." Morton and Roy both looked at Dave, who answered their unspoken question. "She didn't seem to see anything much when we first arrived, but now she seems to be reacting to motion and light." Mike Morton spoke directly to Joanne. "That's a very good sign, Joanne. It means that you are regaining your vision at a good pace. But we will have to get some x-rays." He turned to Carole, who was the nurse helping him in the room. "I want skull and ankle series. We'll also need blood gases asap."

He turned back to Joanne. "How is your pain?"

Joanne thought for a moment, her breathing shallow due to her discomfort. "Uh, head, comes and goes... like knives... stabbing... ankle constant throb...hard to think, sorry."

"You don't need to apologize. That's fine. Do you remember what happened?"

Joanne heard the words, but they seemed hard to process. "I fell."

"Okay, Joanne, take it easy now."

The x-ray technician arrived and Morton repeated his requests for skull and ankle series. As the nurse, doctor, and Roy started to leave the treatment room, Joanne called out in a scared voice, "Roy?" and he came quickly to her side and held her hand.

"I'm right here. You'll be fine, Jo. This will only take a couple of minutes and I'll be back at your side."

Her voice quavered, "I can't see you, Roy." Tears fell out of the corners of her eyes.

He squeezed her hand. "You'll be fine," he repeated.

Morton hurried him out of the room. "C'mon out Roy, you're holding things up."

Roy was anxious and upset. To see Joanne in pain like this! He remembered when the children were born – it was difficult then to see her suffering, but they knew it was normal, and the births had been without incident. She was a real trooper, and if she was crying now, it was because she really was hurt. He knew the vision problem was probably temporary, but what if it wasn't? He pulled Morton aside. "Give it to me straight, doc. How is she?"

"You know we can't tell until we have the results of the x-rays and blood tests, but I think she's going to be fine, Roy."

"You're not sugar coating 'cause you know me, right?"

"Roy, I think you know me well enough to know I _never_ sugar coat – no matter who I'm dealing with."

Roy nodded. "How long till you have some answers?"

Mike squeezed Roy's arm reassuringly. "I will let you know the minute I have any news." He removed his hand and commented, "Don't you think you should see to your kids, hmm?" Roy looked down toward the waiting room, and saw Johnny animatedly describing something to his children while gesturing with his arms. The children were rapt, open mouthed. Roy grinned slightly, despite his concern for his wife. He wondered what kind of damage control he would have to do to counteract whatever story his kids were hearing. Boy, he sure was glad he got along with his partner, and that Johnny was close to his family. He walked down the hall to call Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 51 and let his captain, Hank Stanley, know what had happened.

Finally the technician was done 'torturing' Joanne. She couldn't help the analogy. She was already in so much pain, but then to have someone playing around with her injuries, turning her ankle this way and that, touching her head...it was too much. Carole came back into the treatment room, and said, "The doctor will be here soon." Joanne didn't respond. What was there to say? Carole came beside the gurney and compassionately touched Joanne's hand. "We will be able make you more comfortable."

"Thanks," Joanne whispered.

Roy peeked his head in the door. "Can I come in?"

Dr Morton was right behind him and said as he pushed past Roy, "Only if you're going to be a help. I don't need any dead wood in this room, got it?"

Roy looked surprised, and was a bit offended, "Hey doc, you know I would leave if I thought I couldn't handle it. C'mon!"

"Fine. Then let's do it."

Within a short while, Joanne was in a semi-private room, with her right foot in a raised splint and her head bandaged. Roy stood beside her bed. Dr Morton and Dr Kelly Brackett, head of Rampart's Emergency Department, were on the other side. Brackett said to Joanne with a smile, "You know, I believe that your husband has already been a guest in this very room on one of his adventures."

She smiled back at him weakly. "I'm just so grateful to have my sight back. I never understood the expression 'sight for sore eyes' before – but, honey, I can't believe how good you look!" she said to Roy.

He grinned back at her with relief and squeezed her hand, then looked over to ask Dr Morton, "So what's the story?"

Mike glanced at Dr Brackett before answering. "According to the orthopaedic surgeon, she has a fracture in her ankle at the base of the fibula, with extensive tears in the surrounding ligaments and synovial rupture. Although she's avoided surgery, we're looking at a probable 4 to 6 weeks in a cast, with physiotherapy after that. No pressure on the foot for the first 2 weeks – then we'll take some more x-rays and see if a walking cast is feasible. We're giving you a low dose of morphine and that should help with your headache and the pain in your leg," he said to Joanne.

Joanne groaned and when they looked at her with concern, she complained, "How am I going to manage running a home with a leg that won't work?"

Dr Brackett's dark eyebrows drew together and he said, "You won't be running your home for a while, Joanne. You did a pretty good job of banging yourself up today. We need to keep you here for about a week to monitor that concussion. You need rest, and lots of it." She frowned, and he explained, "A concussion is a bruise on the brain. You know that bruises take a couple of weeks to heal – well, imagine the soft tissues in your skull are like that, swollen and very tender. You need to rest as completely as possible for a while. Also, although your eyesight is back, I want an ophthalmologist to look at you in a couple of days, and another neurology consult."

Joanne sighed. She looked at Roy again. "What are we going to do about the kids?"

"I'll trade off my shifts this week. We'll manage."

Dr Brackett interjected, "That will do for the short term, but remember, Roy, it's going to take a while for Joanne to recover. You're going to need some other support." He looked at Joanne. "Have you got any relatives or friends who can come and stay with you for awhile?"

Roy got a sinking feeling that had nothing to do with Joanne's injuries. He knew what was coming, and tried to suppress a cringe as Joanne said the words he dreaded... "My mother could come and stay with us."

Dr Morton sealed Roy's fate with, "It's just a temporary inconvenience."


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

Back at Station 51, as he went to get his things and arrange his time off with Captain Stanley, Roy was greeted by his concerned colleagues, especially Johnny, who all wanted to know how Joanne was doing. Chris and Jenny were waiting for him back at the hospital, having been placed under Dixie's competent care until Roy could get things straightened away and take them home.

"She's fine. Well, not fine, she's broken her ankle and has a concussion, but she should be all right in a few weeks."

Captain Stanley, or 'Cap' to his men, slapped Roy on the back in a friendly way. "That's good news."

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna need to trade off my shifts this week so I can be home."

"Of course, Roy, no problem. Do whatever you need to do."

"Um, Roy?" his partner followed him out of the kitchen and into the captain's office.

"Yeah?"

"You look kinda upset. I mean, of course you're upset, but..." Roy braced himself. Darn Johnny for being perceptive. Sure enough, he continued, "I think there's something you're not telling us. Is it about Joanne?"

Roy sighed and shook his head, sitting down at the desk. "We're going to need help around the house while Joanne's recovering. And that means..."

Johnny's eyes grew wide with horror, "Not your mother-in-law!"

Roy nodded, and then, elbows on the desk, framed his face with his hands and looked at John with woebegone eyes. "My mother-in-law. For weeks."

"Aw, man, Roy, that's terrible! Isn't there something you can do?"

Roy sighed again and shrugged. "It's already done. She arrives tomorrow."

"I got the first flight this morning. I had to cancel all my plans, but here I am. Roy. What did you do to my daughter?"

He had just picked up her bags to carry them to the car, and already she'd started! He could feel his anger rising and had to fight his natural impulse to tell her where to go, and how to get there. "Mother Maureen, I didn't do anything to your daughter. She had an accident." He had to consciously think not to grind his teeth while he said it.

He opened the passenger door to the car because she stood there expecting it, and he placed her bags into the trunk, closing the hood with a slam that only slightly relieved his feelings.

As he slid into the driver's seat, Maureen sniffed and pursed her lips as if she smelled something foul. "You know this never would have happened if you hadn't moved to LA. I'm sure that you have been neglecting her, and that she never would have fallen if she hadn't been doing far too much, taking care of those children all by herself!" Maureen's voice had a triumphant edge, as if she had just proven a point.

Roy gritted his teeth, and started the car. Looking straight ahead he ignored her latest comment and asked, "Do you want to go right to the hospital and see Joanne, or go to the house first, drop off your things and see the kids?"

"I don't see why the children are at home. Surely it would have been better for them to be with their mother at this trying time?"

Roy started driving towards his home since he hadn't gotten an answer from Maureen that he could use, and again exercised all his self control to answer her civilly. "The doctors feel that Joanne needs a lot of quiet and rest, so they're limiting the number of people and the amount of time for visits, at least for now."

Again Maureen sniffed. "Well, they aren't going to limit me! I am her Mother." Roy could hear the capitals in her speech. Good luck Dr Morton and Dr Brackett with this one! But, he reflected, Dixie could hold her own with anyone, and she wouldn't let Maureen do anything that might compromise Joanne's recovery. For the first time since he had heard that Maureen was coming to stay, he felt a glimmer of optimism. He'd like to see Maureen try and get around Dix. That would be something to see.

As he pulled into the driveway, Maureen turned to him and said in an outraged voice, "What are you doing? Why are we here? Why haven't you taken me immediately to see My Child?"

Roy sighed. "Since we're here, we can drop off your bags, and then I'll take you straight to the hospital."

Maureen narrowed her eyes at him. "You can stop being so highhanded with me, young man. Remember that I am your mother-in-law and you owe me some respect."

"Yes'm." he replied, as he placed her bags on the front porch and opened the door to the house.

Less than an hour later, Maureen opened the door to Joanne's hospital room and called softly, "May I come in?"

Joanne had been trying to sleep off her headache, but not having much luck because she was so uncomfortable. It wasn't like she could just roll over onto her side. Everything ached and throbbed. She smiled weakly at her mother, and answered, "Of course, Mom. It's good to see you."

"I came as soon as I could. My poor, poor baby. Look at you! You look terrible!"

Maureen made as if to sit on the end of the bed, but Joanne asked her quickly, "Mom! Please, sit on the chair, my leg is very sore."

Her mother sighed, and dragged the chair over close to the bed, so she could take Joanne's hand. "Does it hurt a lot, dear?" she asked, her voice dripping with sympathy.

Just the sound of her voice saying those words and suddenly Joanne was a little girl again, and she began to cry softly. "Oh, Mom! It hurts so bad!"

"There, there, my girl, momma's here."

Roy came in a moment later to find his wife enfolded in her mother's arms. He cleared his throat. They pulled apart and Maureen glared at him, but Joanne wiped her eyes and said to him with a loving look, "Thank you so much, honey, for bringing mom to see me." Ah, it was worth a little irritation to see her smile like that!

He walked over to the other side of her bed, and took her hand. "Sure, Jo," he smiled back into her green eyes. He felt Maureen stiffening and squeezed Joanne's hand. "I'll give you and your mom some time to catch up, and be back later, all right?" She nodded and squeezed his hand back.

As soon as the door closed on Roy, Maureen started. "If you had listened to me, and not married that man, you would not be lying here in this awful condition."

"How can you say that? My fall had nothing to do with Roy, he wasn't even there!"

"Exactly! He wasn't there! And why not?" Maureen didn't give Joanne a chance to reply. "Because he was working. And why was he working? Because he doesn't make enough money to support you and my grandchildren. I told you these childhood romances never work out."

Joanne's head started to spin from her mother's logic. She tried to sort out all the different levels of accusation and failed. She frowned and replied, "Mom, how can you say it hasn't worked out? We've been friends since elementary school! That's twenty years! I think that says it's worked out!"

"You had your children too young."

Joanne tried again to follow her mother's thought pattern and couldn't do it. "I wasn't too young! We were married close to two years when Chris was born – I was 22, almost 23, not an 18 year old!" She shifted her position slightly in the bed, trying to sit up straighter. "We have great kids! Roy is a great dad! We have a great family!"

Dixie was passing in the hallway, and heard Joanne's raised voice. She came into the room. "Hello, Joanne," she smiled, "I see you have a visitor." She walked towards the bed and took Joanne's wrist to check her pulse. She smiled diplomatically at Maureen. "If I was to make a guess, I would say you two are related."

Maureen visibly relaxed at Dixie's deft handling and preened. "She's my daughter. Although we have been mistaken for sisters," she tittered.

Dixie controlled herself from rolling her eyes. _Yeah, right_, she thought, _in your dreams_.

Dix let go of Joanne's wrist and checked her IV flow. "I think it's time you had some rest, Joanne." As Maureen started to protest, Dixie looked firmly at her. "She won't heal unless she rests. Now."

Sighing dramatically, Maureen stood up, and blew a kiss to her daughter, and went out of the door Dixie was holding open for her. "I'll come back very soon, my darling." If Maureen could have seen Dixie's face, she might have rethought that statement, because her look clearly said, _Not if I have anything to say about it._

As Maureen turned to face her, Dixie's face transformed into a sweet, if insincere smile. "I'll let you know when you can come back in. Why don't you go get something to eat in the cafeteria?" Maureen obviously expected Dixie to leave the room too, but she turned and went back to check on Joanne. "Nurse stuff," she stated with the same forced smile, as she firmly closed the door.

Joanne had her eyes closed, and a tear rolled softly down her cheek. Dixie came and took her wrist again. "Now, now, Joanne. None of that. It's not worth it."

Joanne opened her eyes and looked sorrowfully at Dixie. "She's so unfair to Roy! He's such a good man! A wonderful father – a wonderful husband!"

"You don't need to tell me! I'm one of his fans, remember?" Dix replied. Joanne sighed, and Dix asked, "Has your mother always been like this?"

"Pretty much. It comes and goes. When we were young, she mostly ignored him. When we got married, she told the rest of the family that we would be the first to get divorced in our generation, because it would never last. My sister told me that the only way she 'got through' our wedding was by drinking gin from a bottle hidden in the trunk of her car." She gave a short laugh. "In our wedding photos you can see she's looking pretty mellow."

Dixie smiled understandingly, and Joanne opened up even more. "I love my mother, I really do. And she's got some great qualities. Her life hasn't been easy. She didn't want to be a farmer's wife; she wanted to be an actress." _Well, that explains a lot about that performance I just saw_, thought Dixie.

Joanne continued, "When my dad died of a heart attack when I was 13, everything fell on her shoulders. And it was hard for her. She had to sell off part of the farm, and she went to work. It was hard to get a job and she never felt like she belonged anywhere. She got involved in the amateur drama club in our town, and that helped...but she missed my dad. She still does, even after all these years."

"Well, although it's very nice of her to come and stay with you, I think it would be better to keep her visits short until you're feeling better, hmm?" Joanne nodded her head slightly as Dixie arranged her pillows more comfortably. "Get some rest now. I'll make sure no one disturbs you." Joanne smiled slightly and closed her eyes again.

Outside Joanne's room, Dixie found Roy flipping through a magazine while sitting on a chair in the hallway. She looked at Roy and motioned for him to walk with her. He put the magazine down, rose and asked, "What's up?"

"So, I met your mother-in-law," she said conversationally.

"Ah," replied Roy.

"Yep," answered Dixie.

"Where is she now?"

"Getting something to eat, I hope. I sent her to the cafeteria. Roy, I'm sorry. None of us knew what you would be in for."

"Well, it's not like I'm going to broadcast that my mother-in-law is a nut bar, is it?"

"Don't worry. Now that I know, I'll keep her in check."

"I'm counting on it, Dixie."

Roy tried to arrange his days so that he would be at home when Maureen was at the hospital, and vice versa, but it was requiring quite a bit of negotiation, because Maureen thought she should have priority at the hospital, and that's the last place he and Dixie thought she should be for Joanne's sake. But every time he came home, the kids had some comment to make, as well. The second day she was there, Chris greeted him with, "Grandma doesn't like me cause I beat her at cards," and Jenny added, "Why doesn't Grandma say anything nice about you, Daddy?" _Joanne,_ Roy prayed, _get better quick!_


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

The day before she was to go home, Joanne was by herself, resting after a visit from the kids. Maureen and Roy had taken them home, and Roy would be back soon. He was bringing Johnny over for a visit and then the two men were going to have dinner together and catch up on each other's news. Her leg was itching and aching and she was trying to distract herself from her discomfort by watching some TV.

Suddenly she felt a pressure in her head, behind her eyes. It was like someone was pushing on her forehead really hard or like her brain was being inflated somehow, but with something heavy, not air. The left side of her body began to shake and twitch. She pressed the button for the nurse. The pressure was getting worse, and something was blocking her vision. Something was happening, something that hurt, something that felt like parts of her brain were dying...

The door opened and a student nurse came in asking, "Is everything all right, Mrs. DeSoto?" Joanne tried to talk, but her words came out slurred and thick and not intelligible. The girl looked frightened and immediately called for a doctor using the room's phone. "I think she's having a stroke!" she told the person on the other end.

Within less than a minute a team of doctors and nurses burst into Joanne's room, and began working on her. An IV was inserted, blood was being taken, a nasal cannula for oxygen was put on her face, someone took her blood pressure..."Pupils unequal," someone said. "Joanne, can you stick out your tongue?" someone asked...and Roy walked into the room. He stood there in shock. He knew what he was seeing. It couldn't be, not his girl, not his Jo...one of the nurses grabbed him and turned him around, pushing him out of the room on Dr Brackett's orders.

Johnny was in the hall, talking with the student nurse, who was quite upset. His face was very serious as he turned to look at Roy. The girl had just finished describing to him what had happened.

Neither man spoke. The girl sat down on a chair in the hallway and tried to compose herself. Roy strained to hear what was going on inside the room and started to bite his nails. John paced up and down the hall. After a few minutes that felt like days, Dr Brackett came out of the room and saw Roy and Johnny. "Roy." He nodded towards Johnny. "John."

"Doc. How is she?"

Dr Brackett's sternness relaxed as he saw his friend's worry. "It looks like she is going to be okay. We're going to do an EEG for confirmation**, **and we need results from the blood tests, but it doesn't look like she's had a stroke."

Roy and Johnny both let out breaths they didn't know they had been holding in. The student nurse looked up from her chair, confused. Kelly addressed his remarks to include her. "It looked very much like a stroke, but there is no facial weakness or receptive aphasia, and her diastolic pressure is 80. There is some hemiparesis, however. We'll know more soon – neurology is on its way."

Roy nodded, unconvinced. "What else could it be, Doc?"

Kelly knitted his eyebrows together, and said, "That's for the neurologist to tell us, Roy. Just a heads up, he may ask for an angiogram." Roy shook his head very slightly, and Dr Brackett looked at him compassionately. "Only if it's really necessary, you know that."

"I'd rather not take any risk of a real stroke, doc."

"Of course, so would we all. I don't think he'll ask for one, so rest easy. I'll see you soon."

It was about twenty minutes later when Roy and Johnny were finally allowed to enter the room. Joanne was lying very still in the bed, with the new IV in place and a nurse sitting in a chair beside the bed. "Roy..." John whispered, but Roy just shook his head once and went to his wife's side.

"Joanne?" he called tentatively. She opened her eyes and looked at him, but didn't say anything. "Hey, there, babe, how ya feeling?"

She took a moment to respond, as if searching for the words. "Head. Hurts."

Roy almost wanted to cry. This was his sweetheart, the only love he'd ever had. He pulled himself together. "Look who's here to see you," he said in a falsely cheerful voice.

Johnny leaned in and said gently, "Hi, Joanne. It's good to see you."

Joanne tried to smile, but it was a travesty of her normal one. Johnny looked at her eyes and then motioned to Roy. He smiled at her, and then walked over to Johnny, who whispered, "Pupils, Roy." He nodded. He'd also noticed that one eye was dilated slightly more than the other. "Brackett's sure?" Roy knew Johnny was referring to the elimination of a stroke, because she sure looked like something neurological had happened.

"Gotta go with what the docs say, Johnny. He's the best." Johnny nodded, reassured.

Joanne looked like she was trying to focus on her husband. "Secrets?" she asked slowly.

"Naw, just being inconsiderate men."

Joanne smiled a real smile at them. "Mom," she stated.

Roy gave a short laugh. "No need to worry I'll get too full of myself when she's around."

Joanne became serious. "Don't tell."

"What, tell your mother about your little adventure just now? Naw, that just for us to know and her not to find out."

"Thanks."

Dr Brackett came in with Dr Wyatt, the neurologist. "We've got the results of your tests, Joanne," said Kelly.

Dr Wyatt smiled at her and nodded to the two other men before asking, "Mrs. DeSoto, have you ever had migraine headaches?"

Joanne seemed sluggish in her response. "No."

"Does anyone in your family suffer from migraines?"

Roy answered, "Her aunt does – in fact she's been hospitalized for them."

Dr Wyatt nodded. "It seems that you probably have a form of migraine that mimics a stroke. The good news is that the effects that you are feeling now should resolve themselves with 24 hours."

"And the bad news?" asked Roy.

He shrugged slightly. "Migraines are not usually a one-shot deal. We'll have to monitor her for awhile. Try some medication and see if that alleviates her symptoms."

Johnny asked, "Is this related to her head injury, doc?"

Dr Wyatt was noncommittal. "Well, you know headaches may occur after concussion, but research is really just beginning in this area." He turned toward Joanne. "How do you feel now?"

"Like I got beat up. Head sore. Achy." Her speech seemed a bit sluggish and fuzzy still. She closed her eyes.

Kelly Brackett nodded to the others in the room and stated, "We're going to let you rest now, Joanne. We'll see you soon," and ushered everyone out but the nurse.

Johnny and Roy sat down at the table in the diner and ordered their meals. John looked at his friend, considering. Roy raised his eyebrows. "What?" he finally asked.

"So, you and Joanne met when you were nine years old and you got married when you were 21."

"Yeah...?"

"Just tryin' to figure things out." John's burger and French fries had arrived and he started picking at the fries one by one, talking and eating at the same time.

"What things?" asked Roy, as he salted his fries.

"Well, like how did you deal with your mother-in-law all those years? I mean, was it always this bad, or did you do something to make her hate you?"

Roy was immediately defensive. "I didn't do anything! Not to her, not to Joanne, not to anybody! I've just been me!"

"Okay, okay, calm down. I didn't mean anything by it. I was just curious, y'know."

"Don't you think that I've tried to figure out why she hates me? Don't you think that it hasn't bothered me all these years?" He chomped into his burger, mashing the meat and bun between his teeth angrily.

"Yeah, sure, I..."

Roy swallowed and interrupted him. "I don't know how many times I tried to do things that would be nice, that might get her to look at me as someone other than the heel who ruined her daughter's chances for a good life!"

"Roy..."

Again Roy interrupted him. "Nothing! Nothing! It's like she's got this image of me and there's no way I can change it!"

Johnny didn't say anything when Roy paused. After a moment, Roy continued in a calmer voice, "It's partly why we came to LA - to make a clean break, to get far enough away she has to fly to see us." He paused again and then added in an even quieter voice, "And she hates me for that too. I just can't win."

"Is Joanne really close to her mom? I know that she visits once a year, but do they, like, talk on the phone all the time, and all that?"

Roy considered. "Close to her? She cares about her, she worries about her, but I don't think I'd say they're best friends or anything." He thought about what he had just said. "Or even if they're friends at all." He rubbed his nose with his finger. "Y'know, I never thought of that."

"Of what?"

"If Joanne and her mother are friends." He took another bite of his hamburger, and in a moment continued, "You remember Joanne grew up on a farm. There were always lots of chores. Her father died when she was a teenager, and her mother had to change her life quite a bit. Joanne and her sister had to take up a lot of the slack. Maureen's a frustrated actress, and I think that despite the affection she felt for Joanne's dad, there was something, like, she felt she'd married beneath her. I don't know. I guess she didn't want Joanne to end up like her."

"But your family aren't farmers, and farming is good, honorable work. I should know, 'cause I grew up on a ranch." John seemed irritated by Roy's mother-in-law's short-sightedness, but then he changed gears slightly by asking, "Did your families know each other? I mean, when you were young."

"Yeah, kinda. Well, the way you do when you grow up together in a small town. Her dad sometimes taught classes for adults at the high school - you know, how to repair small engines, stuff like that, and my dad took one of his classes. Our mothers worked together on parent committees and church picnics and things. They weren't friends, but they were friendly."

Roy became reminiscent. "I remember Joanne used to draw pictures in class in primary school. She was a good artist. At recess kids would ask her to draw stuff. I still have a drawing she made for me way back then tucked away somewhere."

"Didja know she was 'the one' even then?"

"No – we were just good friends. She was so easy to talk to, y'know? Smart. Funny. And very pretty. I always thought that. Joanne dated several other guys in high school – but I was too shy and never really interested in anyone else."

"How did you go from friends to – y'know..."

"Boyfriend and girlfriend? Well, though we were friends for quite awhile, there was something about her...a spark I guess you'd call it."

"A spark?"

"Yeah."

"And it became a fire?" teased Johnny.

Roy laughed, "A merry burning blaze."

"So what happened?"

"One day, in grade eleven, we were working on a project together – I don't even remember what it was – and she was standing close beside me, and I just realized, man, what am I doing? And I asked her out."

Johnny grinned. "So what happened then? I mean, it obviously worked out..."

Roy smiled at the memory. "Sure did. Turns out she'd had a crush on me for years, and was just waiting for me to say something. She'd thought I didn't like her that way, and didn't want to lose me as a friend. So anyway, when we started dating, Maureen ignored me most of the time, hoping, I guess, that I would just go away."

"Ignoring's not too bad."

"You don't know Maureen. She turned ignoring into an art form. As in, pointedly ignored. As in sniff, turn her back, refusing to acknowledge I was there."

"Ouch."

"Y'know what's strange? Part of reason we're together is because of Maureen – she told Joanne to make sure she married her best friend, 'cause everything else might change, but that never would. Guess she didn't figure I was the best friend."

"Why not?"

"This other guy was hanging around Joanne. Older. Maureen thought he was wonderful. Y'know the kind; bought his first car with his own money when he turned 16 and was going to university on a scholarship. Jo went out with him quite a few times – she told me that on one date he told her how they were going to spend their retirement together, and she freaked. Her girlfriends didn't like the guy either – said he made her seem old and boring. Which, as you know, she isn't." Roy smiled, then sighed and his good humor slipped away as he remembered the way she looked at the hospital a little while ago.

Johnny became serious too. "Whatcha gonna do, Roy, if..."

Roy sat up straighter. "For better or worse, Johnny. In sickness and in health. That's what I signed up for."

Johnny nodded. "And the Wicked Witch of the East?"

Roy's face lightened. "I like that. Good one, partner." He shrugged with one shoulder. "Whatever it takes to get Joanne back on her feet and healthy, Johnny."

"Joanne has a sister."

"Yeah, she does, but she has kids too, so that wouldn't work."

"What's she like?"

"The sister? She's got some issues. Unlike Joanne, she had a lot of boyfriends, but they weren't guys I'd want my sister to hang out with. A couple were real winners, as a matter of fact."

Roy barely suppressed a shudder, and Johnny grinned, remarking, "They must have been somethin' for you to react like that after all these years."

Roy nodded. "The guy she's with right now is not too bad, but I'm glad I only have to see them once in a while."

"Family," said John sagely.

"Family."

They had finished their meals, and sat drinking their coffee in companionable silence borne of years of friendship.

"What is it that Maureen hates about your job, anyway?" Johnny suddenly asked. "I mean, it's a good job – the pay's not great, but we do good stuff, helping people and all that..."

Roy smiled at John's defensiveness. "I don't know. I always wanted to be a fireman, just like most boys, but for me, I never grew out of it. Maureen says that's a sign that I'm just incredibly immature." John rolled his eyes. "And being a paramedic? Well, you know the story, 'if he can be a paramedic, why not be a doctor and make real money?'"

"Rot," said Johnny decisively. "We're good at what we do, Roy. We're professionals. She doesn't know anything about anything."

Roy raised his coffee cup, "Amen to that, brother!"


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

Joanne's release from the hospital was delayed until all the symptoms she experienced from her 'migraine' episode had resolved. By the time all the tests were done, the orthopaedist had decided that they could put a walking cast on her foot, as long as she didn't actually put any pressure on it for another few days. She was fitted for crutches, and taught how to use them properly. After all that time in bed, her muscles felt stiff and weak when she finally tried to use them.

Roy was grateful that Dixie had intervened to prevent Maureen from coming to the hospital to get Joanne when she was discharged. She went home with her leg stretched out across the back seat of the car, her crutches propped between the front seat and the back. She rolled down the window as Roy drove. "You okay back there, honey?" he asked. "Very okay," she responded, "Even the smoggy LA air smells great after all that time in one room with no access to a window." Roy nodded, remembering his own reactions to being released from hospital after an injury.

Joanne looked around the house and saw that it was just as she had left it almost two weeks before, only more so, with piles of things everywhere. As she looked around with dismay, her mother said to her, "I didn't want to touch anything without you, dear. I didn't want to upset your system."

Joanne gritted her teeth. She felt that common sense would have told her mother that the dishes could have all been washed and put away, but apparently not. As for the laundry, did her mother really think that the piles of unfolded clothes were part of a system? Well, everyone had been fed and clothed, and the dog was still alive, so it seemed that whatever had gotten done had been sufficient.

Now that Joanne was home, the house had to be rearranged to accommodate her. They knew that she wouldn't be able to try the stairs for a while. After a bit of arguing, it was finally agreed that Maureen would take their room, and Joanne and Roy would move into the family room on the sofa bed. Roy had had enough of sleeping alone, and even if it meant that he had to have twenty pillows propping up his wife beside him, there was no way he would consider having her home and sleeping somewhere else.

All her things were brought from the upstairs bathroom to the downstairs, and they made a schedule when she would take care of the things she needed to do. One of the things Joanne was looking forward to the most when her cast would finally come off was a real bath with bubbles in a tub she could lie down in, but that would have to wait.

Roy and Joanne also argued about him going back to work. She wanted him to start back right away, and he wanted to take a few more days to make sure they had all her needs taken care of. Roy had taken off so many shifts since Joanne's accident, and with the cost of her hospitalization, they had lost all of the savings they had made for their vacation, and then some.

Sometimes it seemed that no matter what he did to get ahead and provide for nice things for his family, the money got sucked into a black hole right away. Like the time he had won that cash prize from a raffle at the picnic, and the car had broken down the next week, taking all the winnings in one go.

Her first night home, the dishes were finally done, lunches made for the children, a load of laundry was in the machine, the children were tucked in and Maureen was upstairs in their room reading a magazine, when Roy lay down on the sofa bed beside Joanne and sighed. "Man, there's always something to do! I will be so glad to just get some sleep tonight."

Joanne smiled tentatively at him as he turned to look at her. "Honey, can we talk?" she asked.

_Uh oh_, he thought, _what now? _She shifted her leg and didn't look at him. "Sure, sweetheart, what's up?" he replied in a forced upbeat voice.

"Don't do that, Roy. I'm not going to bite you," she said and paused for a moment, while he waited patiently and with a bit of apprehension. "Roy, you remember the time we had that big fight over Mike Stoker's spaghetti?"

This was not at all what he had expected. He was glad that he wasn't impulsive like his partner, and didn't blurt out the first thing that came into his head, which was "_Why on earth are you asking about that?_" but took the time to reflect and respond with, "Of course I remember, Jo."

She smiled, and patted his arm. "Really, don't worry. I just want to explain something to you."

"O-kay..."

She took a big breath, and began to talk. "You must have thought I was nuts to have gotten so wound up about something that seems so silly and minor, but Roy, you don't understand; taking care of our home and our family - that's my job. My full time job, and when you told me about Mike's spaghetti, it was like you told me I couldn't do my job, that I wasn't good enough."

"I never meant..."

She interrupted him, "I know you didn't mean anything like that. Really. But it's how I feel. This is what I do, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, every year. I cook, I clean, I feed, I clothe, I make sure that everything here is running well enough that you and the kids can go and do the things you need and want to do and be healthy and happy. I don't get a pay check. The payback I get is from seeing you and the kids eating well, sleeping well, being able to go to work and school, and sometimes, sometimes..." she paused again, and her voice got a little tremulous, "sometimes one of you says 'thanks' or 'I liked that' or 'that tasted good'..." her voice trailed off.

Roy felt like such a heel. He had never looked at what Joanne did every day in that way. He didn't know what to say, so he just got as close to her as he could with all the pillows propping her up and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her head onto his shoulder. He kissed her hair, and then asked, "Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because I can't do my job, Roy. I'm at work, I mean I'm in the place where I do everything I normally do, and I can't do any of it. Instead I have to lie here and watch you and mom and the kids do what I would be doing if I could." She sighed. "It's really hard." She looked up into his eyes. "I feel lost, like I don't know who I am."

Wow. Roy would never have imagined that this would be an effect of her injuries. He knew he needed to say something sensitive and reassuring, but he didn't want to say something that might be taken the wrong way. This was really tricky. Joanne could see him struggling to find the right response, and put her finger tips on his lips. "You don't have to say anything. I just thought you should know." He nodded, and kissed her forehead, silently vowing that, from now on, a day wouldn't go by where he didn't say something to show he appreciated her.

After two weeks of being off, running back and forth to the hospital, shepherding the children to their activities and dealing with his mother-in-law 24/7, Roy couldn't wait to get back to work, despite his arguing with Joanne that he should take more time off. His first shift back, he arrived at the station almost an hour early, changed into his uniform and grabbed the newspaper and a coffee in the kitchen. Ah. It felt so good to be back.

As C shift started ending their time, the guys came into the kitchen and welcomed him with pats on the back and friendly hellos. Soon the men of A shift started arriving. Fireman Chet Kelly was excited to see Roy as he had been saving something special for his return: a collection of mother-in-law jokes. He sat down beside Roy and took away his paper. Roy didn't mind. "Hey Roy, what is the worst thing an emergency doctor can tell you after admitting your mother-in-law?"

"I dunno, Chet. What?"

"Sir, we were able to save her!" Roy smiled. That was all the encouragement Chet needed. "What's the difference between a catfish and a mother-in-law?"

"I guess you're gonna tell me."

"One's a scum sucking bottom dweller, and the other is a fish!" Roy choked a bit on his coffee but he couldn't help chuckling.

Fireman Marco Lopez and Engineer Mike Stoker wandered in, so Chet included them in his spiel. "Hey guys, d'you know why they bury mothers-in-law 18 feet down, when everyone else is buried 6 feet down?" He paused for dramatic effect and then said, "Because, deep, deep down, they really are very nice people." Roy laughed and the other men smiled.

"What does a mother-in-law call her broom? Basic transportation."

By the time Cap announced roll call, Roy's face hurt from laughing or trying not to laugh at the lamer jokes. Johnny commented to Marco in an aside, "Y'know, they really aren't all that funny."

Marco shrugged, "I guess it depends on the mother-in-law."

Johnny nodded several times, "Yeah, I guess."

As the two paramedics headed out on their first run of the day, Roy was practically whistling. His partner thought it was really weird. "Hey, Roy?"

"Yeah, Johnny?"

"You doin' all right?"

"Today is a good day. Yessir, a good day." As Roy pulled the squad out of the bay, Johnny shook his head and grinned at his partner.

They were all seriousness and professionalism when they arrived at their destination, however. A woman had fallen in her house and hurt her hip so that she couldn't get up. A neighbor had heard her calling for help, but couldn't get in. In fact, no one could get in, because the woman was a hoarder, and every single surface was covered or barricaded by papers and food.

After a few minutes of futile efforts, Roy said to Johnny, "We'd better get the engine in on this. We can't do it alone. There's just too much stuff." They could hear the woman calling out to them from inside. Johnny tried to reassure her through the door, while at the same time searching for an alternative way in. The windows had junk piled in front of them, but from what he could see, the floors were not navigable. It was a wonder the woman hadn't killed herself; the place was such a booby trap, and a fire hazard.

When the engine arrived, they took an axe to break down the front door. One of the first things that hit them was the smell. Old food, unrecognizable lumps of black and green growths were on plates stacked on most surfaces, glasses and mugs with stained sides or glutinous muck in them lay on top of stacks and stacks of newspapers, and half-filled plastic containers or just garbage seemed to be everywhere. They had to pick where to walk as there was hardly any space to move. When Roy got to the woman, she was surrounded by several piles of junk that had fallen with her, and was half buried under a hill of miscellaneous rubbish.

Chet muttered to Marco, "Did they move the city dump?" Cap was nearby so he overheard the comment, and glared at him. "Sorry, Cap," apologized Chet. Cap didn't reply but just directed the men to start moving stuff away so the paramedics could do their work. It was really unpleasant, because the woman was obese and had soiled herself as well. By the time she was finally stabilized and loaded onto a stretcher, Cap was talking to the patrolman assigned to the scene about calling for social services to intervene in cleaning up her home, and keeping an eye on the woman's mental health.

The squad arrived at the station around the same time as the rig. The men all climbed out of the vehicles and Johnny asked, "Cap, mind if I go take a shower?"

"I think we could all use a clean up after that one, John. Go ahead."

Roy and Johnny walked to the locker room. "Still feeling really great to be back?" teased Johnny.

"There are some advantages to being off," admitted Roy.

They barely sat down after letting Dispatch that they were available when the alarm sounded for a house fire.

It was a suburban cottage, and flames could be seen coming from the back of the house, already visible in the roof. Some young men stood outside the front of the house in bathing suits. As the engine and squad pulled up, one of them ran over to Captain Stanley. "It was the hot tub – the motor just started shooting sparks, and then foom! The trellis caught fire – it happened so quick!"

The firemen were rolling out hoses and the captain nodded to the man. "Is anyone left inside the house?"

"No, no, we were all outside, in the tub..."

"Okay, please keep out of the way, now." From the trellis, to the roof, to inside the cottage - within minutes the whole structure was ablaze. Another rig arrived, and then another, but it was too late. The whole house was gone, and the main task was to protect the nearby structures.

The young man stood in the road in front of where his house had stood just moments before and said in shock and grief, "My parents are away on holiday. It was only a hot tub soak with my buddies. It was only a spark." All he had left was the bathing suit he was wearing.

By the late afternoon the paramedics were really looking forward to Marco's stew for supper. As they all sat down to eat, Chet called out, "Hey, John, I got a new one for you. What do you do if you are attacked by a bunch of clowns?"

Johnny looked up from loading his plate with the stew. "What?"

"C'mon John, this is easy." Chet paused and looked around the room to make sure his audience was paying attention. "You go for the juggler. Get it? Jugg – ler?" He grabbed at his neck and looked meaningfully at them all. The men looked at him, and then threw bread rolls at his head. Captain Stanley didn't reprimand anyone but just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Where do you get all these, Chet? Do you spend all your time off finding bad jokes?" asked Roy.

To the men's surprise, Kelly actually blushed a bit, and Johnny nearly choked on his coffee watching him. "You do! He does! Well, look at that!" he grinned.

Chet blustered a bit, "I don't spend _all_ my time and they aren't bad jokes!"

"Well, everyone's got to have a hobby," stated Cap, "and I guess we should be grateful his is pretty harmless."

"Not to mothers-in-law!" quipped Marco.

Mike nodded and said, "No kidding!" All the men groaned at the terrible pun, and Mike looked rather pleased with himself.

Roy and John were on clean up, and were just putting away the washed supper dishes when the alarm bell sounded. "Squad 51, woman unconscious..."

When they got to the address of the apartment, they rang the doorbell, and a large man answered the door. "She's in here," he said and walked away without waiting to see if the paramedics followed him in.

They found the woman on the sofa, stretched out. Her vital signs showed elevated BP and accelerated heart rate, with rapid and shallow breathing. As John was doing his check, he noticed that there were marks on the woman's neck...that looked like they were made by large hands. He checked the woman's airway, and her trachea wasn't crushed, but there was some swelling that was restricting her breathing. "Roy..." He quietly drew Roy's attention to the marks, and Roy knew what he had to do.

"Sir, do you know anything about these marks on her neck?" he asked. The man shrugged and didn't say anything. Johnny blew out his breath in a silent whistle. Roy continued, "How long has she been unconscious?"

"Not long. Twenty minutes, maybe."

Johnny's eyes got wide. Twenty minutes! What the hell was going on here? Roy shook his head ever so slightly and said quietly, "In the ambulance." John understood. They would let Rampart know that a police investigation was imperative through the bio-phone in the ambulance, where the man couldn't hear them. They didn't want him taking off or reacting in some unpredictable way.

Roy reported to Rampart General: no cyanosis of extremities, some dyspnea. Dr Brackett ordered an IV with 1 mg epinephrine, monitor BP and breathing, and transport immediately. Soon the ambulance arrived, and during transport, Roy told Brackett over the bio-phone what he and John had noticed and suspected.

When they got to the Emergency ward, a policeman was waiting to take a statement from the man. Johnny overheard him say to the cop in a calm voice, "If I'd wanted to kill her, she'd be dead. She knows I love her. She won't press charges."

As the partners headed back to the station, Johnny told Roy what the man had said. "D'you think he'll get away with it? I mean, he almost killed her!"

Roy shook his head and pursed his lips together. "If she dies, then I guess you and I will have to testify."

John put rested his elbow on the window sill of the door, and his hand made a fist on under his chin. He was silent for a moment, and then said, "I just can't understand it. 'She knows I love her.' What kind of a sick love is that?"

"There's all kinds of sicknesses out there, Johnny."

"You can say that again! But whatever he calls it, it ain't love in my book!"

"Mine either, partner."

"Y'know, I look at you and Joanne - I know it's not perfect, but it's really good. If I could guarantee that I could have what you have, maybe I would get married..."

Roy was silent. He was a bit surprised by what Johnny said. He hadn't realized that his marriage to Joanne could have that kind of influence. He chuckled then, and said, "Well, make sure you check out the in-laws before you do. Just so's you know what you're really in for."

At the DeSoto house, Joanne's mother was trying to convince her that the kids should be doing the laundry and cleaning up while she, Maureen, would supervise. Joanne was so frustrated. When the children came home from school, she felt that they needed a healthy snack, some time to unwind and play, and then support doing whatever homework they were assigned. They did not need to be cleaning and doing the other things that were needed to run a home, especially when their mother and grandmother were there. But she couldn't move off the sofa, and her head hurt almost constantly, while her mother sat doing crossword puzzles. _Oh, Roy_, she thought, _what can I do? I hate being so useless_!

During their next run to Rampart, Johnny and Roy were both very interested in any news regarding the woman who had been strangled. "How's she doin', Dix?" asked Johnny, and Roy added, "Yeah, did the police end up charging that guy?"

Dix shook her head and looked angry. "No. She regained consciousness, and refused to even acknowledge that her husband did it." She sighed and frowned.

Johnny was amazed. "Wow. Y'mean he called it – he said she wouldn't press charges and he was right. I don't believe it."

Dixie closed the file she had open in front of her and stood up, "Well, you'd better believe it, 'cause it's true. She left with him about 10 minutes ago."

Roy spoke up, "Isn't there something we or someone else can do?"

"Like what, Roy? If she wants to be a punching bag, there's nothing we can do about it."

"Why do women stay with men like that, Dix?"

"I honestly have no idea, Johnny, except that maybe they don't believe they have other options."

"What kind of a life is that – waiting for the next time – and the next time she might not make it?"

"Not much of one, I think. Got to go. See you guys."

"Yeah, Dix. See you."


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

It was hard for Joanne to remain upbeat when Roy came home. She wanted to hear about his first day back, but it seemed like she kept losing her focus. She felt irritable and snapped at Jenny to get down and go away when she was trying to listen to Roy and Jenny was climbing on the sofa bed to watch TV. She sighed, "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have me camp out here, Roy."

"Where else could we put you, Joanne? The kids are just going to have to adapt. How's your head?" She tried to smile and shrug it off, but he wasn't fooled. "Hurting a bit?" he asked.

"A bit," she responded and rubbed her eyes with her finger tips. Light seemed to bother her a lot, and so did noise. She never thought she'd feel this way, but she missed the hospital room and its relative quietness. Her stomach didn't seem to be tolerating food very well either, and she only felt like eating toast or soups.

It wasn't helping that Maureen was busy cooking up Japanese fish tempura and other meals that were barely tolerated by the kids, and felt slighted when no one seemed to appreciate her efforts. At supper that evening, Chris asked if he could have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead, and Jenny cried, "Me too! This tastes funny."

"This is your influence," Maureen told Roy, as she stood up majestically from the table. _ 'Lord, preserve me!'_ thought Roy, and tried to explain that they were just kids and they weren't used to fancy meals except on special occasions.

Maureen turned on him for that comment: "And whose fault is that? I raised my daughter to eat whatever was put in front of her. I never had to make a second meal to satisfy the whims of a child."

Joanne came hobbling in from the family room, holding onto the wall with one hand and using a crutch in the other, "Mom, Mom, it's okay. We'll eat what you made, just give the kids some time."

Roy frowned, not only because Joanne had gotten up off the sofa when she should be resting, but also because she was placating her mother with a story that just wasn't true – the only person who would be eating this supper would be him, because Joanne's stomach couldn't handle the fried food. And he wasn't going to force his kids to eat it, because they'd frankly been through enough lately. He didn't want it either, but he would eat it because it was there. "Can I talk to you?" he asked Joanne, and pointed back to the family room. Her shoulders slumped, and she looked like she might cry, but she nodded and turned around.

"Well. I can see that I am not wanted here. I will be in my – I should say _your_ - room." He just nodded at his mother-in-law, and followed Joanne. Let Maureen sulk or whatever, Joanne was his priority right now.

She was sitting on the edge of the bed, with her leg up beside her, just looking into space. "Sweetheart…" he began in a soothing voice.

"I know, Roy, I know. 'We're all doing our best.'" She turned her head and looked at him sadly, "But I'm not doing anything. I'm so useless."

He put his arm around her. "You have to heal, you know that, honey. It takes time."

Joanne looked sorrowful. "I know it's really hard for you to have Mom here. I know that it's not a nice place for you to come home to…you probably don't even want to come home now, with me like this and Mom running the show."

"I always want to come home to you. This takes some getting used to, that's all."

Chris appeared in the doorway. "Mom? Dad? Can I talk to you?"

Joanne forced herself to smile and welcome him with an open arm, and Roy said, "Of course, son, anytime. What's up?"

"Grandma's in your room and she's saying things and banging around. I miss it when it was just us."

"It's only temporary, Chris. Just until your mother gets on her feet again. We all have to deal with some inconvenience for now."

"In-con-ve-nience – what does that mean?"

"Something that makes us a bit uncomfortable."

"Like having Grandma here? And Mom's broken leg?"

"Exactly like that, Chris; those are real inconveniences."

"Oh, I get it then. Inconvenience. Good word."

His parents smiled at him. Yes, it is a good word, and it certainly described their lives right now.

* * *

><p>Roy couldn't believe it was really the month anniversary of Joanne's accident. Maureen was still there, and he was still sane - sort of. But it was getting harder, not easier, to go home after his shift ended, and he, like his son, longed for the days when it was "just us." Joanne was due to start physiotherapy on her leg as soon as the cast was off. She was getting very antsy at being restricted in her activities for so long, and he could see that it was quite the struggle for her to maintain a semblance of acceptance of her situation. Fortunately for her sanity, she had rediscovered knitting, and everyone was going to get a homemade sweater or socks or something for Christmas this year. So now there were balls of wool and knitting patterns and needles all over the house, adding to the general chaos.<p>

He and Maureen had tacitly declared a 'no combat' zone near Joanne, with Maureen generally treating him the way she always had – ignoring his existence unless she absolutely had to acknowledge it. It suited him just fine. As far as meals went, Joanne directed what was to be made, he did the shopping, Maureen did the cooking and the kids ate without complaint. They were…coping.

When Roy pulled into the parking lot at the station that morning, he was so late that he almost missed roll call. What a difference from his first day back after Joanne's injury! Cap just raised his eyebrows at him as he slid into line, shoving his hat onto his head, his shirt barely tucked in.

After 'A' shift was dismissed, Hank asked Roy to step into his office for a second. "Been a while now since your mother-in-law moved in. Just wondering how it's going at home."

"Fine, Cap, just fine. We're managing. We've got a system going now, and it seems to be working."

"Good, good."

"Cap?"

"Yeah, Roy?"

"Anything in particular you wanted to talk to me about?'

"No, no. Just keeping an eye on things. You seem to be having a bit of difficulty coming in on time the last little while, and I've noticed you're often the last one gone when shift is over. So I just thought I'd see if things were okay."

Roy sat down. Then he sighed. "I can't say they're_ not_ okay. It's just…"

"Got the ol' mother-in-law blues?"

Roy smiled at that. "I guess."

"I sympathize, Roy, I really do. Some things you just gotta get through. No other way around; just through." Hank pushed his hand away from his chest like he was launching it.

"So, no words of advice?"

"Nope; wish I had some. However, if you ever just want to unload, you know I'm here, always ready to listen." He patted Roy on the back. "Remember, it won't last forever, it just feels that way." Roy chuckled, and left the office shaking his head, strangely comforted nonetheless.

* * *

><p>It was the day Joanne had been waiting for: her cast was coming off. Maureen was going to drive her into the hospital for her appointment with the orthopaedist, and then take her to her physiotherapy intake interview. Maureen was sniping about Roy as she drove while Joanne was in the back seat with her leg stretched out and her crutches. "...And another thing, I am sure that that man…"<p>

"Call him Roy, Mom, you've known him most of his life!"

"…deliberately made sure that he would have to work today, just so that he wouldn't have to deal with these appointments and all the arrangements for the children. He's irresponsible, Joanne, and I can't understand why you can't see it!"

There were a number of cars ahead that had slowed and were stopping. Maureen immediately took it as a personal affront. "Of course. Because we have somewhere important to be, these people are taking their sweet time and we are going to be late!" Soon they came to a stop too. "What's going on? How long is this going to take?' Maureen complained.

Joanne said, "There's probably an accident or something up ahead. We're just going to have to wait it out."

"Well, I'm not waiting if I don't have to. I'm sure I can find a way around. You wait here, dear, and I'll be back soon."

As her mother got out of the car, Joanne called to her, "Mom, it's an accident, they don't need spectators."

Maureen leaned her head inside the window and asked, "If it's an accident, why haven't they cleaned it up and taken the wrecks away? _Someone's_ not doing their job." She started marching up the road, and several other gawkers got out of their cars as well to go check out the scene. Joanne deflated into the seat, praying that her mother would not get in the way or do something regrettable.

There was a crowd gathered on the road and sidewalk that was being held back by police. As Maureen peered over people's heads, she counted two fire trucks and two squads, with '51' written on the side of one of the trucks. There seemed to be several police cars as well, and at least one ambulance. She pushed herself through the crowd so she could better see.

The mass of crushed metal was almost unrecognizable but clearly there were several vehicles involved. Flames poured out of various places in the jumble, with hoses spraying down the fires. Maureen saw '51' on several helmets that were working as a group with a large, loud, metal tool that resembled giant scissors on a car door that seemed to be underneath another car. The door popped open, and she recognized Roy climbing into the burning, battered wreck, pulling out a woman who was moaning and covered in blood. She saw his partner John take over, and start to work on staunching the blood, and checking the woman's breathing, pulse…despite the terrible conditions, the two men worked together like a well-oiled machine, and others pitched in to help with equipment and support. She was impressed despite herself.

Her hand went up to her mouth when she saw Roy leap up from the woman, and throw himself back into the burning car, with a hose trained on him to cover him from the flames. She couldn't hear clearly what was being said, but she could tell that things were deteriorating, as the captain started ordering his men away from the cars, his arms sweeping in large movements that could only indicate something big was about to happen. _'C'mon, Roy,'_ she thought, _'Get out of there! Whatever you are doing, it's not worth it!'_

Suddenly he emerged, backing out of the car with something in his arms. It was a young child. He ran and reached a safe distance just as the car exploded! The crowd gasped and cried out, and everyone watched the flames leap into the sky. But Maureen just glanced at the explosion, and the hoses that rushed back in to bring it under control – her eyes were fixed on her son-in-law, giving mouth to mouth resuscitation to a toddler as he ran. He gently placed the child on the ground and then started barking orders at the firemen who were nearby, and one of them ran to get his gear, while another took over the rescue breathing, and Roy started doing CPR, willing the child to come back to life.

The defibrillator arrived and was set up, with his partner Johnny right beside him; again the coordination and understanding between the two men was amazing.

Zap! Maureen jumped as the child lifted off the ground from the jolt. Roy shook his head, and Johnny held up his hand, counting 1, 2, 3, 4…again another jolt caused the body on the tarmac to jump. There was more urgent speaking on the portable phone beside them, and quickly, needles were inserted, more rhythmic pushing on the little one's heart, willing it to start, and another jolt…Maureen was surprised to realize that tears were streaming down her face – with all her might, she prayed for the child to come back, she yearned for the men to make a miracle and save some woman's baby… how hard they worked! How tirelessly!

It seemed to never end, and then…relief! She could see from their smiles and the child's movements that they had done it! The miracle had happened! There was a thin wail of complaint and every man there looked as if they had each been given a million dollars.

But there was no rest – now it was on to dealing with transporting the victims, and the clean up…Roy never saw his mother-in-law in the crowd, and he wouldn't have cared if he had. He had a job to do, and he knew how to do it very well. Maureen watched as the ambulances pulled away, the squads and fire trucks drove off, and the road was cleared for traffic to pass around.

She walked slowly back to the car, thinking very hard. Joanne said to her as she climbed into the driver's seat, "You were gone a long time. Was there an accident?"

Maureen nodded, and said slowly, "There was. It was a terrible accident." She looked at her daughter in the rear view mirror, and added, "But fortunately for those poor souls, your husband was there, and saved a baby's life." She bowed her head for a moment, and then started up the engine, looking at her daughter again in the mirror. "My son-in-law is quite the man. The first real hero I think I've ever known." The cars ahead of them began to move, and Joanne wiped away the sudden tears that threatened her vision.

Roy never knew what caused the transformation of his mother-in-law's attitude towards him, just that Maureen had come back from a car accident scene that he had worked on with a new perspective. It didn't make any difference to him what she had seen, he was just doing the same job he did every day.

It was partly that which lead to Maureen's change of heart – the realization that what she had seen was not extraordinary for him. When he had gotten home from work after that shift, the first thing he did was check on his wife to see how she was doing. When Joanne asked about his day, he told her about the funny things that Chet had said which were repeatable, about the interesting medical case they had taken to the hospital, without giving any identifying details, and about plans he and Johnny were making for an old fire engine they owned.

When Joanne asked if they had been at a car accident, he said that they had, but didn't offer any other information. He asked why, and she mentioned that they had been stopped on the way to her appointment by an accident, and that Maureen had checked it out. He just accepted it matter-of-factly, and moved on. Maureen felt like she was finally seeing Roy as he really was for the very first time.

After the children were in bed, and everything was ready for the next day, Roy sat down beside Joanne on the sofa bed and gently rubbed her sore leg, because he knew that getting the circulation going into all the tissues would help rebuild her muscles. There was only the lamp from the side table on, and Joanne was knitting something and making small contented sounds in reaction to his touch.

Maureen stood in the doorway, watching her daughter and Roy. They looked very comfortable together, and she saw Joanne turn her head and smile at her husband with gratitude for his kindness, and his answering smile was like a kiss. For the first time, Maureen felt ashamed of all the hard things she had said over the years about this man. She thought about interrupting them to apologize, but then turned and went upstairs. It would be like a sacrilege to disturb them.

* * *

><p>Joanne was able to drive again on her own again, and Maureen had booked her flight to go home. It had been a very interesting six weeks. The last week of her visit had been pleasant. She had gone out of her way to take the children out to activities when Roy was home so that he and Joanne could spend some time alone. She didn't say anything negative about him whether he was there or not. She seemed softer somehow, and not as abrasive, although she still shared her opinions on everything that happened in or out of the house.<p>

The whole family drove her to the airport to catch her plane, Chris and Jenny looking out the windows at the jets taking off and landing. Roy stood with his arm around Joanne, who was using a cane to support her weak leg, as they brought Maureen to her gate. Chris and Jenny gave their grandmother hugs, and Chris spontaneously asked, "When are you coming again, Grandma? It was fun going to the parks with you."

Maureen said in pleased voice, "I hope it won't be too long, Chris. You're growing into a fine young man."

"Thanks!" he replied, but he was distracted by the plane taxiing by the large window, so she kissed his cheek and told him, "Go see your plane, and I'll see you soon." He smiled and was off with Jenny again.

Roy held out his hand, and said, "Thanks for coming and helping us out, Mother Maureen. We couldn't have managed without you."

To his surprise, she ignored his hand, and kissed his cheek as well. "You're a good man, Roy, and a good husband and father. My daughter did the right thing the day she married you." She kissed Joanne, waved, and was gone.

Roy stood there in shock for several seconds, unable to close his mouth or speak. "Uh, did that just happen?" he asked Joanne, who was also bemused.

"I was right here and I don't know if I believe it either!" she responded. "Wow."

"Yeah, no kidding; wow." As they walked together toward their children, Roy said in a Humphrey Bogart voice, "Joanne, this may be the start of a beautiful relationship…"

* * *

><p>Two weeks later, Joanne dropped by the station when Roy was working, something she never usually did. Roy was very surprised to see her and asked her if anything was wrong. She looked a bit stunned. "I don't think there's something wrong, but I'm not sure. I received this in the mail today. Here, you'd better read it."<p>

Roy took the letter from his wife's hand with a bit of trepidation. It must be quite something for her to make a special trip to see him.

'_Dear Joanne,_' he read, '_I want you to think of this as an early Christmas present, and birthday presents for the next couple of years as well. I've enclosed a check to cover your stay at Disneyland. Have fun! Love, Mom. Ps Please give everyone my love_.' Enclosed was a check for a thousand dollars.

A thousand dollars! Roy's head whirled. From his mother-in-law. No wonder Joanne came by – the world must be coming to an end. "Uh," was all he could say.

"Yeah, that's what I said too," replied Joanne. "So…"

"So I guess I'll look into making some reservations at the hotel. Y'know, I can't believe this is happening!" He was totally bemused.

Chet wandered into the kitchen, and asked, "You can't believe what is happening, Roy? That your wife would want to see if you actually work?"

"No Chet, that my mother-in-law would pay for our vacation."

"YOUR mother-in-law?"

"She sent us a check."

"Well, I wouldn't count on that until the bank clears it…"

Joanne jumped in, "Now wait a minute, Chet. What do you mean by YOUR mother-in-law? And that crack about the check clearing…I'll have you know that my mother is a woman of integrity, and if she gives something, she doesn't take it back!"

"Oops! Sorry, Joanne! I didn't mean anything by what I said, honestly."

She turned to her husband, "And what does Chet know about my mother anyway? What have you been saying, Roy?"

Chet made a rueful face, and slid past Roy on his way out of the room, saying out of the corner of his mouth as he went, "Dog house's out back, pal."

"Yeah, thanks for that, Chet."

Finis


End file.
